The Ultimate Guide to Sex and Disability: For All of Us Who Live with Disabilities, Chronic Pain, and Illness

Miriam Kaufman, M.D. Cory Silverberg, Fran Odette

The Ultimate Guide to Sex and Disability is the first complete sex guide for people who live with disabilities, pain, illness, or chronic conditions. Useful for absolutely everyone, regardless of age, gender, or sexual orientation, the book addresses a wide range of disabilities — from chronic fatigue, back pain, and asthma to spinal cord injury, hearing and visual impairment, multiple sclerosis, and more. Expertly written by a medical doctor, a sex educator, and a disability activist, The Ultimate Guide provides readers with encouragement, support, and all the information they need to create a sex life that works for them. The authors cover all aspects of sex and disability, including building a positive sexual self-image; positions to minimize stress and maximize pleasure; dealing with fatigue or pain during sex; finding partners and talking with partners about sex and disability; adapting sex toys; and more.

A collection of essays from multiple perspectives, that consider how sex and disability come together and how disabled people negotiate sex and sexual identities in ableist and heteronormative culture. The essays shake up notions about who and what is sexy and sexualizable, what counts as sex, and what desire is. At the same time, they challenge conceptions of disability in the dominant culture, queer studies, and disability studies.

This book considers how illness and injury affect sexuality and offers strategies to overcome sexual difficulties after health challenges. Chapters include “Sexuality in Medical Disease,” “Sexuality Across the Lifespan,” and “Sexuality and Cancer in Both Men and Women.”

Sexuality and Fertility Issues in Ill Health and Disability: From Early Adolescence to Adulthood

Rachel Balen and Marilyn Crawshaw

A collection of essays by various health professionals and patients about the range of experiences encompassing sexuality and disability. Essays include “Sexuality and Growing up HIV Positive: Lessons from Practice,” “Unintended Catharsis through Intended Art,” and “The Sting in the Tail: Teenagers Coping with Sperm Banking Following Cancer Diagnosis.”

Spectrum Disorders, Relationships and Sexuality

Autism-Asperger’s and Sexuality: Puberty and Beyond

Jerry Newport and Mary Newport

Written for adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorders, chapters in this book include “When Desire Leads to a Bad Relationship,” “The Best Way to Date Someone is to be Yourself,” and “Surviving the First Wave of Sexual Interest.” http://fhautism.com

Sex, Sexuality, and the Autism Spectrum

Wendy Lawson and Glenys Jones

Written by an adult on the autism spectrum from her vantage point as a lesbian, the author explores issues such as sexuality education, relationships, and same sex attractions. Chapters include “Discovering Bisexuality, Homosexuality and Transgender Dispositions,” “Making it Work,” and “Building a Safe Space.”

Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships: Decoding Social Mysteries through the Unique Perspectives of Autism.

Dr. Temple Grandin and Sean Barron

Written for anyone who has ever struggled through a social encounter, this guide to social relationships was written by two individuals with autism Chapters include “How the Autistic Way of Thinking Affects Social Understanding,” and “Rule #1: Rules Are Not Absolute: They are Situation Based and People Based.”

Asperger's Syndrome and Sexuality: From Adolescence through Adulthood Isabelle Henault This guide to understanding sexuality and its expression among individuals with Asperger Syndrome includes chapters titled “Asperger’s Syndrome and Sexual Development,” “Sexual Diversity and Gender Identity,” and “Inappropriate Sexual Behaviors: Comprehension and Intervention.”

Physical Disabilities and Sexuality

Venus on Wheels: Two Decades of Dialogue on Disability, Biography, and Being Female in America

Gelya Frank

A cultural biography of Diane DeVries, a woman without arms or legs who has rejected her doctors’ recommendations for prostheses. An anthropological analysis of DeVries’ sexual autonomy and her participation in the 1970s women’s and disability rights movements. Chapters include “My Introduction to Diane,” and “the Crisis of Representation: Why it is Time for Cultural Biography.”

Sexual Difficulties After Traumatic Brain Injury and Ways to Deal With It

Ronit Aloni and Shlomo Katz

This book focuses on improving the social and intimacy skills of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) survivors so that they may return to society and establish relationships in which they will be able to function sexually. The book is designed for professionals in the fields of rehabilitation and physical medicine, as well as counselors and psychologists.

WEBSITES

General Sexuality and Disability

Sexual Health

http://www.sexualhealth.com Sexualhealth.com is a general sexual health website & provides a wide range of information, support and resources, including an “Ask an Expert” section that provides answers to reader’s questions or concerns about disability and sexuality.

Andrew Morrison-Gurza is a Disability Awareness Consultation with a MA of Legal Studies specializing in Persons with Disabilities. Andrew has the experience of living as a Person with a Disability and writes, consults and presents on sex-positive and LGBT issues.

Sexuality and Disability

http://www.sexualityanddisability.org/ is a website that is dedicated towards the idea that women with disabilities are sexual beings. It provides sexual health information for women with disabilities, their partners, their friends and family, and doctors/counselors. Has information for women about a wide spectrum of information, from their periods, to giving birth, to meeting someone, to sexual violence. this site you can link to /connect with the resources online. (tabs on Body, Having Sex, Relationships, Having Children, Violence) and a page full of additional resources

FILMS

(Sex)abled: Disability Uncensored

A 14-minute documentary by San Francisco State University students from a panel called "Are Cripples Screwed?" which was sponsored by the UC Berkeley's Disabled Students Union. Bay area community members and comedian Josh Blue (winner of Last Comic Standing) share their personal experiences with sex, dating and intimacy. http://www.sexsmartfilms.com/free-videos/sex-abled-disability-uncensored/

"The Sessions"

Starring Helen Hunt, John Hawkes and Directed by Ben Lewin Synopsis: A man in an iron lung who wishes to lose his virginity contacts a professional sex surrogate with the help of his therapist and priest. Helen Hunt was nominated for an Academy Award for her role.